August 10, 2001 ~ IQ tests for cattle
As far as I know, there's no such thing. And there would be no point, really. Cows are... how shall I put this so as not to offend? Cows are not very bright. I know, I know, someone is going to write and tell me that they knew a very smart cow and I'm already nodding, agreeing with you. You're right. Just as there have been Einsteins among us, I'm sure there are a few really smart bovines on the planet. But have I ever seen one? No. And OUR cows, in particular, are as cute as cute can be, but bless their little hearts, they're dumber than a box of rocks.
Last night our bull, all 2000+ pounds of him, got himself stuck in the headgate/loading chute. That's the apparatus used for loading cattle into a trailer or for working on them, giving them their shots and such. And he really did get himSELF stuck... what a goofball. We have no idea how he got in there; the gates were all supposed to be closed. We never put him in there ourselves, because he's way too big. Anyway, there he was. He never complained, never mooed, never bellowed. No doubt he was mortified. Larry took the headgate apart, trying to get him out of there, and still no luck. Finally got him to back up enough (yes, we HAD tried that in the first place, we are smarter than cows!) to squeeze out. He hurt his leg somehow. Hopefully it's not serious -- we'll see.
And today two of the calves refused to go through an open gate. They always act so stunned at the sight of a gate. All the other cows go through it, their mothers go through it, but they dart back and forth, frantic, as if they are saying, "My GOSH, what's happening?!" I walked two and a half miles, trying to get those silly frothy-mouthed, panic-stricken calves back with their mothers (who were ignoring the yells of their children). Finally gave up and just left the gates open. Goofballs. Checked on the calves from time to time. Many hours later, the babies somehow reconnected with their mothers, and acted as if nothing had ever been wrong.
I picked a few pears for our friend Earl, and all the cows helped. Suzy, in particular, tried to help. Every time I picked a pear, she gave me her very best "I am so cute, don't you love me?" look, and I have to admit, I gave her a few pears. But I also scolded her and told her to quit making such a pig of herself, that she was going to make herself sick and I didn't want her to come complaining to me about it. She gave me her best "cute" look. I gave her a few more pears.
But like I said, cows are dumber than a box of rocks.
Absolutely.
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